Potential application of adipose-derived stem cells and their secretory factors to skin: discussion from both clinical and industrial viewpoints

Importance of the field: Adipose tissue is one of the richest sources of mesenchymal stem cells. Even more interesting is the fact that adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) show an outstanding ability to regenerate damaged skin. Thus, ASCs are a popular and feasible treatment in clinical dermatology. Areas covered in this review: This review discusses the potential applications of ASCs and conditioned medium of ASC (ASC-CM) to skin, and briefly touches on the mechanisms by which ASCs promote skin regeneration. What the reader will gain: Clinically, processed lipo-aspirated (PLA) cells are commonly used for treatment of aged skin; however, the use of PLA cells for cosmetic purposes is not convenient, because PLA cells are prepared from patients. Alternatively, cosmetics that contain ASC-CM can be pre-made from healthy volunteers such that they are immediately available for clinical treatment of aged skin. Cell-based therapies are adequate for improvement of wrinkles or for soft tissue augmentation, whereas ASC-CM has merit for amelioration of skin tone. When culturing ASCs for the production of cosmetic raw materials, hypoxic culture conditions and transduction of specific genes into ASCs may increase the regenerative protein content of the conditioned medium. Take home message: Application of ASCs and ASC-CM to dermatology shows promising results for skin regeneration.